FWIW, I think it's easily one of the greatest plays of our current century. And despite the seriousness of its themes and horror that lies at its centre, it's so deftly written and with a remarkable light touch. But being only a single act that passes in real time, I can imagine that it's a challenging play to stage successfully (Or rather, for the pacing to be sufficiently compelling when its rhythms are intentionally rather quotidian.)
I remember the lighting, and how it changed over the course of the play. And the silences - in the beginning and moments throughout. And being left breathless by Rose's devastating speech towards the end, the one that finishes with 'And I thought, that woman holds up the world'. And the brief, strange and beguiling final few seconds.
I don't love everything that Lucy Kirkwood has written, but I think The Children and The Welkin are both masterpieces.
Joe. |
